LONDON, UK (AP) - As the tour T-shirts proudly claim, this month
Oasis is celebrating "10 years of noise and confusion," although in recent years the confusion has become more noticeable than the noise.
Oasis came from a poor working class background and tried to take on the whole world; they became incredibly famous, incredibly quick, and it all went horribly wrong in a blur of showbiz nights out at London's Met bar.
And yet, despite two horribly flat albums -- Be Here Now and Standing On the Shoulder of Giants , both subsequently disowned -- Oasis have never quite lost its common touch. Thus, a low-key gig on Wednesday (Oct. 10) at the Manchester Apollo (it's third of the 10th anniversary shows), just a mile away from the streets where the band grew up provided ample opportunity to rediscover the sparkle and the magic.
Pre-gig, talk was of a set composed entirely of new songs and obscurities, but the set contained few surprises. Oasis has never got away without playing "Live Forever" or "Rock n Roll Star" and isn't going to start now. However, in recent years the band has coasted on the safety net of scale provided by huge stadium concerts. Here, in the sort of venue played by "regular" bands, the chasm of class between most bands and Oasis was ruthlessly underlined. As anthem after anthem thundered out -- almost all from its first two albums, Definitely Maybe and (What's the Story) Morning Glory? -- it was easy to understand Oasis' jukebox ubiquity.
And yet, no band should survive solely on its past. Two untitled new songs gave tantalizing glimpses of its next, reported "back to basics" album. One was classic, instantly sing-able Oasis (with an obvious debt to Slade). The other, a bit too traditional rock, was perhaps less convincing.
At least the band's lost its capacity for musical excess. Where once were horns, strings, and everything but the kitchen sink, "Whatever" was delivered acoustically by Noel Gallagher and sounded better for it. Many years ago, the elder Gallagher was given a guitar by the Smiths' Johnny Marr. Here, he acknowledged the debt by asking Marr to guest on "Champagne Supernova" and a storming Beatles' "I Am the Walrus." Meanwhile, Liam Gallagher was surprisingly muted: barely addressing the audience, but instead concentrating on those brilliantly belligerent, nasal vocals.
While Oasis attempts to regain the Vesuvius-like raw power of its youth, some of the songs from that period have gained a curious wistfulness. In particular, "Fade Away" ("while we're living, the dreams we had as children fade away...") sounded curiously prophetic. Perhaps the Gallaghers always understood that once you've conquered the world, all that remains is to do it once again.
With this in mind, Noel led the band into one unexpected final charge. With the house lights up and half the audience at the exits, Gallagher cried "Back in yer fuckin' seats!" as the band delivered a pulverizing "Roll with It." It might not always be a comfortable ride, but once again, the Oasis rollercoaster is on the up.
